EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 20,480,000 shares, an increase of 11.7% from the August 15th total of 18,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

EQT Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE EQT traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $33.55. The company had a trading volume of 5,480,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,093,501. EQT has a fifty-two week low of $30.02 and a fifty-two week high of $45.23. The company has a market capitalization of $14.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.56 and its 200 day moving average is $36.55.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $952.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. EQT had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 4.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that EQT will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a $0.1575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. EQT’s payout ratio is currently 45.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EQT. Wolfe Research began coverage on EQT in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of EQT in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded EQT from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on EQT from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on EQT from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EQT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of EQT by 3.8% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,153 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of EQT by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 72,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in EQT by 5.1% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in EQT by 3.0% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 14,603 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in EQT by 1.4% in the first quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,361 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EQT Company Profile

EQT Corporation operates as a natural gas production company in the United States. The company sells natural gas and natural gas liquids to marketers, utilities, and industrial customers through pipelines located in the Appalachian Basin. It also offers marketing services and contractual pipeline capacity management services.